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Chegg.com CEO Dan Rosensweig on the changes in how students get their textbooks for school.
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One of the first start -- that Fox Business itself a start -- company back in 20081 profiled was check dot com.
This is a textbook rental both physical textbooks and online textbooks but today's been a forward several years.
It is considered one of the most successful start -- -- all of Silicon Valley.
We are happy to be joined by the CEO Dan Rosenzweig a check dot com.
Well thank you very much and thanks for coming -- Silicon Valley elegantly we absolutely love it but you know back in the day you guys were known as the Netflix of textbooks.
You could -- then you can download them borrow them which cost which is so onerous.
You're more thing your business model now to watch.
Well we're we're leveraging what technology can do now which students are asking us for cigarette we're clearly the leading textbook rental company we have.
More ebooks and almost anybody we're seeing a higher percentage of people get.
But what we're really focusing on is building the largest connected network students connecting students to students educators educational material.
Things that they need when their junior senior high school all the way through graduate school law school medical school.
And our missions remain the same since the first thing you guys had a son which was save students time say the money and help get smarter.
Last calculation since we started the company -- -- students close to a billion dollars in the cost textbooks so it's it's getting pretty big.
And you're making money the same time which is what it's all about got a bomb attacks listener I.
And Silicon Valley -- you know would tell us the trend are people renting physical textbooks more or downloading ebooks.
Well it's interest thing I think -- you see in retail over the is that dichotomy of those super luxury you know really low cost I think you're seeing that education as well.
Which is there's a group of people that will by the new textbook and they wanna they wanna keep that they -- do they don't want anybody else's underlines.
Which -- -- the used market sort of collapsing because we price substantially less than -- used market.
So -- -- rentals growing substantially.
And so -- going to be around for a long time having said that we are seeing the first interest being move in.
So it used to be one to 3% we've seen these words and its -- ten or 11% so we're.
Well I think kids are getting more familiar with technology I think.
That that the reader that we built is built -- html five which means works from everybody's device does matter and I've had a cell -- your computer.
So I think we've who lives in the clout.
It's got more capabilities take notes you can connect to other students -- -- I think as the technology gets better students are really embracing.
I really can't imagine reading econ one no one on a Smart -- but but but.
That's just me the student loan crisis to you see any reflection of that in your business.
Well of course and if I showed you the letters we get from students and parents emails phone calls tweets.
About how much money we save them which allows them to either take a less loan were to take another class that they otherwise couldn't afford.
But that it's a trillion dollars -- more than credit card loan it's going to be a bigger bubble and our opinion and housing bubble when you look at the percentage of money that people spend on education.
54% of kids graduating with -- over 25000 dollars in debt.
It's a real crisis and we're taking our best and brightest and where we're bankrupting them before they even get a chance to go out.
And make something of the world and contribute the economy we'd like to get rid of that.
You cut 200 million in funding I mean that's that that folks is a pretty big amount when it comes to funding its not its massive venture capital not necessarily just little -- from Angel investors.
The IPO mean those investors want their money back eventually so is -- I think at this is that on the horizon.
Well you know like everybody else in our case we're.
-- IPO is a part of the process that is one of the options for funding.
Fortunately we are so well funded as you articulated we have great long term investors like in -- and Kleiner Perkins and foundation just really good firms.
Who see the bigness of creating the largest student of in the world.
And so we're just gonna keep executing and then if IPO makes sense to get the best form of funding will -- but for now we're just full -- ahead.
Good ideas have a lot of people who try and become competition -- -- copycat but look one of your original founders are spartiate.
Is a guy who was on Fox Business no dot com can't -- how do you say that what you do is is better than the competitors.
Well.
And our case.
We're actually diverging into different areas where we're settlers were both in education.
They're building a product that allows people to be able to use it through their reader.
In our situation we're giving students the opportunity to connect students to read reviews to rate their professors to pick their classes to have the material push them there.
-- required not required getting any format.
And and so help them get into college help colleges save money give them scholarships -- which is building a much bigger platform and environment in.
Are always going to be people that compete with the sub set of what we do and we welcome it -- it makes us.
Better for the student.
We general Rosensweig as CEO of check dot com or by the way I mean.
Guitar Hero you were the CEO abraxis check textbooks which is more -- well I like to do what's important in my daughter's my nineteen and seventeen year old daughter so.
Guitar Hero was evidence -- until it's lifted.
And now -- make college easier more -- so I think -- -- line with them at every stage of their life.
